Mariners Spring Training Stock Watch: Which Players Are on Fire and Slumping

I don't want to jinx anything, but have you noticed that the Seattle Mariners are on a roll?

Not only have they won 10 games in a row so far this spring, but they've knocked the cover off the ball each day as well.

This is all the more impressive when you consider the fact that just about everyone both young and old, prospects, bench-warmers, to potential starters are all getting in on the act.

It all seems crazy, but is this a desert mirage or are we getting our first taste of something truly special this season?

Today I consider myself a cautious optimist, but I still need to see this power surge translate to games that count before I can consider myself among the ranks of the believers; nevertheless at least it's nice to see this lineup mashing the ball.

At the same time are there any players who are struggling?

If you look at the offensive numbers (Mariners.com), it's hard to find anybody significant that's really struggling, but if you look at the pitching stats, a few noteworthy names pop up.

Granted the team has played only 11 games, but let's take a quick look up and down the M's roster and see who is on fire and who is slumping thus far.

Justin Smoak: Scorching

If we're going to talk about players on fire, let's not dance around what is perhaps the biggest surprise thus far of spring training, first baseman Justin Smoak.

Is this for real?

Just last week, Sports Illustrated's Jay Jaffe's offered the following take on Smoak's chances this season and already it seems woefully outdated:

This one feels like kicking a man when he’s already down, but the idea that Smoak’s September showing (.341/.426/.580 with five homers in 101 PA) indicates that he’s finally turned the corner is a flimsy one. A 2008 first-round pick who ranked as a can’t-miss top 25 prospect in 2009 and 2010, Smoak has hit a dreadful .223/.306/.377 in 1,421 PA overall, a sizable sample. While some of that owes to Safeco Field (.210/.296/.343 with 14 homers in 561 PA), his career road numbers (.237/.308/.408) indicate that his problems run much deeper. His pitch-recognition skills, particularly against quality secondary offerings, have long been an issue, and it should take more than one month of improved performance to convince anyone otherwise. Now 26 years old, Smoak is about to feel the squeeze when it comes to playing time, because sometime this year, top catching prospect Mike Zunino is likely cut into the Jesus Montero experiment behind the plate, bumping the latter to DH and Kendrys Morales to first base. Unless Smoak can show radical improvement, he could soon be out of a job.

I think it's safe to say that Justin Smoak got the message.

Based on what we've seen through a half dozen games, the numbers are indeed radical; however these numbers will come back to Earth, right?

Throughout his time in Seattle, Smoak has pieced together a few solid stretches, but has failed to perform with any consistency.

I will be curious to see how he holds up the rest of this month; nevertheless I'm glad to see that he's going to put up a fight.

There isn’t much to worry about if he does what the Mariners medical staff tells him to do.

“It’s just mild,” Griffin said. “We are just being overly cautious. It’s on his right leg which is a good thing. If it was on his left leg, he’d have to be able to push off. But because it’s on his right leg it should make the recovery a little quicker.”

The Mariners won’t give an exact timetable for his return. But the hope is that Hultzen will be able to return to action in about a week.

“After the next three or four days, we’ll have a better idea,” trainer Rick Griffin said.

Carlos Peguero: Hot

As for another player I don't want to jinx, can you believe Carlos Peguero is giving Justin Smoak a run for his money as perhaps the biggest surprise at spring training thus far?

Right now Peguero is tied with Franklin Gutierrez for the team lead with three home runs this spring, but even beyond that he has managed to hit more than just a handful of long balls while maintaining a solid OBP.

While I'm skeptical this hot streak will last, I feel that we owe it to the big guy at this point to see him through even if he can't seem to hit a fastball according to the good folks at USS Mariner.

Kameron Loe and D.J. Mitchell: Warm

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

After putting together a list of fringe players looking to make the M's roster last week, I realized that I failed to include pitchers Kameron Loe and D.J. Mitchell.

While it's debatable that either will make the final cut, so far both have looked solid enough to remind me of my error as Loe has managed to notch a handful of strikeouts over four innings, while Mitchell has yet to surrender a hit across three outings.

It's not much, but it's certainly better than anything the next guy on the list has managed to do thus far...

Casper Wells: Hot and Cold?

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

After homering in his first game this spring against the Padres, Casper Wells and the Mariners basically went in two different directions.

While the Mariners have managed to hit more home runs than any other team this spring, Wells prior to Monday's game against the Rockies had only one single hit during the five games he played between the opener and the Colorado game.

Then all of the sudden Wells went 3-for-4, falling just a homer short of the cycle while driving in five Mariners.

It just goes to show that anyone on this list can go from hero to goat and back in the span of one afternoon out in the desert.

So as much as we want to get excited or upset at what we're seeing so far, it's hard to put too much stock in the situation given we've only seen these players perform across a handful of innings and at bats.

Moving forward though the players worth keeping the closest eye on are probably Smoak and Gutierrez, along with the battle between Bay and Wells for the final outfield spot.

Can Smoak keep hitting?

Can Guti stay healthy?

Will the gap between Bay and Wells narrow over the next few weeks?

That's what I'm keeping an eye on for now, but you never know how things could change.

Regardless of what happens, let's just hope the Mariners continue to stay hot and build up some confidence/momentum to take with them back to Seattle to start the regular season in a few weeks time.